Top Stories
New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
The Last Day of the Year
My New Year Countdown Clock indicates that I have just over five hours left before this year is over. I am stuck in the suburbs with my mother and stepfather, contemplating what I am going to eat and drink to celebrate this great change in our lives. The weather is cold, but I do not feel as though it has really affected my attitude about what the new year will bring...but I am not as happy with this moment as I usually feel.
By Kendall Defoe 16 days ago in Confessions
Lalam
Some words annoy me because I don't like the sound of them, don't like the implications, or don't like the way they are used or overused. In the days when I used to read film reviews, I learnt to hate the word 'coruscating.' The first time I read a film review that talked about a 'coruscating script' I had to look the word up, which was irritating. Why do intellectuals have to rub their smug aren't-I-oh-so-clever shit into our ignorant noses? That is a rhetorical question, btw, as we all know why.
By Raymond G. Taylor17 days ago in Writers
The Trouble With Interdimensional Travel
So, for Christmas, I got an interdimensional portal machine. It doesn't take up as much room as you might imagine. A little bigger than your average laptop, actually, so it slides under my sofa neatly when I’m not using it. Very safe. Very convenient. There is also a suit, like a wetsuit, but much smaller and thinner. It's extraordinarily stretchy. I roll that up and tuck it in the back of the dresser drawer.
By L.C. Schäfer15 days ago in Fiction
It's Winter
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What If? Writing Exercise for Fiction Writers prompts The Exercise —Write a scene involving two characters. Have the point-of-view character presume something entirely different about the situation from what the other character's overt behavior seems to imply. For example, a landlord comes to visit, and the tenant suspects that it isn't a visit but an inspection. Make up several situations in which one character can fantasize or project or suspect or even fear what another character is thinking. The Objective - To show how your characters can use their imaginations to interpret the behavior and dialogue of other characters.
By Denise E Lindquist14 days ago in Writers
Society Often Teaches Us to Suppress Our Sad Feelings, Branding Them as Negative.. Content Warning.
Allow yourself the time to feel, process, and let go. What a journey we’ve traveled together. You can relate to that pain that appears out of nowhere and wants to linger in our minds. Once fear moves in, it takes root—spreading doubt, loneliness, and confusion It’s that kind of pain that overtakes your mental health, gradually making a home within you. Your thoughts can create a space filled with fear, a feeling that we often cling to because it’s the one our minds use against us—leading to a fierce battle between your thoughts and your feelings. It’s a struggle no one wants to lose, yet losing yourself feels like an ever-present threat. Isn’t that a trick life plays on us?
By Johana Torres15 days ago in Psyche
The Varkaat
I should have been afraid. Alright, I was afraid. But my fear was nothing compared to my shame. Watching her do her duty as a soldier, when I knew mine, made me feel like a fraud. She wasn't just efficient and organized and lethal. She killed our disgusting enemies with style. I was quite sure that she was showing off, just to, "help me to overcome my natural tendency to make anthropocentric judgments."
By D. J. Reddall15 days ago in Fiction
About Binding Prometheus
I want to start actively advocating on behalf of my own work, and the most valuable part of my canon is, without a doubt, Binding Prometheus, the play I have been working on since 2019 and only finished in 2023 as part of my MA. The play itself is an amalgamation of a million different inspirations. On one end, it evokes the Ancient Greek myth-play, deriving its own title from the earliest extant work of Western drama we have, Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound. On the other end, it borrows significantly from the sci-fi bulwarks from over the years, namely Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Karel Capek’s Rossum’s Universal Robots. The play could be an episode of Black Mirror, I fear. I don’t know. I’ve only ever seen one episode of Black Mirror.
By Steven Christopher McKnight15 days ago in Futurism
Wise~Guys
— Look Behind what's in Front of You ~ Make Good Choices — Hey, So how you Doin'..! Made~Men — Mobster Movies romanticise a distinctive, elegant appearance, impeccable attire style, along with the 'Families' expressive lingo. Making their 'Bones' gave them Panache — with vintage fedoras, tailored pin-striped suits, mirror-polished wing-tip shoes adorned with tassels; with their 'Gun Moll' gorgeous dates on their arms.
By Jay Kantor16 days ago in Families
Stepping Out
The gravel of the walkway shifted under the soles of his shoes, and responded to each step with its constant crunching and clacking chatter. The throng of gray and white raised their voices in deliberation, discussing matters of import that had been left unsaid for days.
By Aaron Morrison16 days ago in Fiction
